There are no words here, only numbers. It is Boston’s Holocaust Memorial. Towers reach up with numbers etched in the glass and soar upwards, just as the smoke did in the chimneys when human ash became snow across Europe.

It is a powerful monument, one that I was urged to go and see. When you step into a tower and stand in the centre you are surrounded by thousands of numbers.

At night between the grid, lights turn on illuminating the numbers like stars. Numbers…souls….

It is a highly poetic memorial, and as I stood in the Auschwitz Chimney unable to make out the numbers, I was overwhelmed and wept.

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About susan sheldon

I am an explorer. It's taken me awhile to realise this. But I love capturing bits of our wonderful world with my camera, travelling through time and history, always returning to write, or paint what I've discovered. I use my Leica and my iPhone to capture images, and with those images I try to hold on to a feeling, a moment in our busy lives. Sometimes those moments bring me into the past, others into the studio to paint, or back to the old typewriter to try to use words to capture what the camera has done for me already. One of my goals in my blog is to have a space to take a breath away from our frantic world. I hope you enjoy your time here. It’s such a privilege to have readers.

I went to the Holocaust Museum in Dallas. There really are no words to describe how I felt. Although these memorials can be difficult to visit, I think visit them we must so that we never forget the atrocities that occurred.

Susan: For twenty years I walked past the Boston Holocaust memorial on my way to and from work. It is located in a high traffic area in the center of the Fanuel Hall market complex and across the street from Boston City Hall and a large federal government complex. People passing through the area are drawn to the memorial. I do not know how anyone who visits once or passes everyday that does not have an emotional experience. It stands as an educational and inspirational testement to the resilience of mankind as well as pointing out man’s inhuman treatment of man. If viewed in its context, it is a powerful voice against hatred… every year, on Holocaust memorial day, survivors, their relatives and others both Jew and Gentile come to the memorial for an observance. My research has shown that more than 200 members of my family were murdered in the holocaust.

Hi Richard, it truly is moving. Is there a way to say sorry for losing so many members of your family? I don’t think so. It’s a loss that nothing can ever repair. When I was doing research and discovered the same, it took my breath away and for three months I could not go back to research.